Pakistan deployed spies to find S-400 systems: Air Marshal's big Op Sindoor reveal - India Today

**Pakistan allegedly dispatched sleeper‑cell operatives to locate India’s S‑400 missile‑defence batteries during “Operation Sindoor,” claims a retired Indian Air Force Air Marshal**

New Delhi – In an interview that has reverberated across South‑Asian security circles, a former Indian Air Force (IAF) air marshal asserted that Pakistan deployed a network of covert agents, including sleeper cells operating inside India, to pinpoint the positions of the Russian‑origin S‑400 air‑defence system that the Indian armed forces have been integrating since 2021. The senior officer, speaking to a suite of Indian media outlets including *India Today* and *The Times of India*, said the covert effort was part of Pakistan’s broader intelligence‑gathering campaign during the clandestine “Operation Sindoor,” a code‑name the IAF uses for the series of field‑tests and integration exercises that accompanied the S‑400’s deployment. According to the marshal, the Pakistani operatives relied on satellite‑based assistance, leveraging commercial and possibly military satellite imagery to triangulate the radar signatures and movement patterns of the system’s launch vehicles and command‑and‑control hubs.

The marshal’s statements have been amplified by several news platforms, from *Inshorts* to *The Economic Times* and *DNA India*, which quoted his allegation that “Pakistan was scared of the S‑400 and sent its sleeper cells to know its exact location.” While the retired officer did not present concrete evidence—such as intercepted communications or captured operatives—the claim underscores the high‑stakes espionage environment that surrounds advanced air‑defence assets in the subcontinent. India’s defence ministry has neither confirmed nor denied the specifics of the accusation, maintaining its standard policy of not commenting on operational security matters. Meanwhile, the Pakistani Foreign Office issued a terse rebuttal, describing the allegations as “baseless and aimed at stoking mistrust” and asserting that any Pakistani intelligence activity on Indian soil would be conducted through “legitimate diplomatic and open‑source channels.”

Analysts note that the controversy arrives at a time when Indo‑Pakistani relations remain fraught over the Kashmir dispute, cross‑border terrorism, and the broader competition for strategic assets. If true, the alleged deployment of sleeper cells would highlight Pakistan’s reliance on low‑observable intelligence tradecraft to counterbalance India’s acquisition of high‑end Western‑grade weaponry. However, the absence of independent verification makes the claim difficult to substantiate, and some experts caution against allowing uncorroborated statements to shape public policy or bilateral engagement. The episode also raises questions about the security of India’s critical defence platforms, potentially prompting a reassessment of concealment measures and counter‑espionage protocols as the country continues to integrate the S‑400 into its air‑defence network.